US withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany
5/2/202647 min
The US says it will withdraw five thousand of its troops from Germany, as a rift widens between the two countries over the war in Iran. The German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, says Washington’s decision was foreseeable, but that the continuing presence of American forces was in German and US interests. We speak to a German member of the European parliament.
Also on the programme: British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tells the BBC that he wants tougher policing of protests in the UK after the stabbing of two Jewish men in London; and we hear from two Afghan female footballers about their hopes of competing internationally.
(Photo: Badge of a soldier is seen during the 'Combined Resolve' exercise at 7th Army Training Command's Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, 30 April 2026. Credit: Photo by ANNA SZILAGYI/EPA/Shutterstock)
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First 90 secondsJames Kamarasamy· Host0:00
[intro music] Hello, and welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service, coming to you live from London. I'm James Kamara Sami. And we begin today in Germany, where the authorities are digesting an announcement from the Pentagon that the United States is to withdraw five thousand troops from the country. Germany currently hosts around thirty-six thousand active duty American troops in several bases, including perhaps best-known one, Ramstein, making it the key European hub for the US military's operations. Don't panic, that seems to be the official approach. The German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, said the decision was not a surprise and was foreseeable, but its timing is notable. It comes at the end of a week when Chancellor Friedrich Merz, like most European leaders, an opponent of the US war in Iran, made his strongest criticism yet of America's actions. This is what he said in a speech to schoolchildren on Monday.
Friedrich Merz· Soundbite0:54
This whole affair is ill-considered, to say the least. And at the moment, I cannot see what strategic exit the Americans are opting for, especially as the Iranians are obviously negotiating very skillfully, or rather very skillfully not negotiating, and letting the Americans travel to Islamabad only to leave again without any results. Thus, an entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership.
James Kamarasamy· Host1:21
President Trump responded by saying in a social media post that Mr. Merz thought it was okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon and